The Lost Get Found
by Vilinye
Summary: Missing scenes from between TRACKS and TAHITI
1. Touch and Go

"What now?" Ward asked,

"We'll find somewhere quiet, stock up on supplies." Weariness had smoothed the worry lines on Coulson's face, but it couldn't erase them. "We could all use some rest." He glanced into the medical cube. "I'll keep an eye on her."

"We have equipment for that, sir." Fitz said.

"He's right. Get some rest; I'll do it." May's offer cut off Coulson's objection.

"If anything happens—if she wakes up—"

"I'll let you know."

* * *

Coulson sat in his office, glancing up at the intercom every five minutes. Anything to distract himself from those moments in the Guest House.

It was real. He'd never doubted Dr. Steitins, but seeing the room in person—nobody's go through that much trouble for one person. How many others had been treated there? And how many times had that procedure failed? Just what was in that serum anyway? He had fought extraterrestrials, but that specimen was nothing he recognized.

"Sir." The speaker crackled. "Simmons is taking over, nothing new."

"Thanks." Coulson rubbed his face. She was going to be okay. Of course she was.


	2. Still Here

Skye woke up confused. Not that this was new—while working for the Rising Tide, she'd driven across the country till she could barely remember what town she was in, let alone state.  
Right, then, see what's outside. That would at least narrow things down.  
No windows. She glanced around the room. White. Absolutely, completely, clinical white, with a glass wall on one side leading to a lab. Monitors flickered and beeped at her—no, with her, keeping time with her breathing and heartbeat.  
A hospital? Then why the lab? Something else hummed, faint but steady under the whining medical equipment.  
The Bus. She's on the Bus.  
Every limb ached, a dull, throbbing foreshadowing. "Guys? You there? Fitz? Simmons? Anybody?" It was so bright. Her eyes squeezed shut.


	3. Chrysalis

Blue raspberry stain. File error—X19-3SR not found. Waves crashing over the Mohave Desert. Bit and bridle in her mouth. "Take it out," she moans, but the word is gagged.

"Don't try to talk. " The gentle tone contradicts the commanding words. "You're still on oxygen."

Plastic wedged up her nose, burrs on her hand, cold pebbles everywhere.

"Skye. Skye, can you hear me?"

Eyes zoom in, out, fix on a face looking down at her. Too much work.

"Skye, it's me, Agent Coulson. You're still on the Bus."

White. So much white that it throws off specks of purple and green like a prism.

"Quinn shot you. It was touch and go for a while, but you'll be fine."

No pain. Not at first. Just quiet, the moment between an unexpected slap and crying.

"I should tell the others you're awake. They'll want to come in. That is, unless…"

WardMayFitzsimmons. Should thank them, reassure them. "S'okay." This time the word makes it out.

He presses the intercom. "Guys, she's awake."

* * *

Notes:

The disjointed writing is deliberate-Skye wouldn't be thinking straightly at this point.


	4. Mama Bear

"I gave Quinn a message for you." May doesn't elaborate. Skye knows her well enough to read between the lines.

Weeks later, after a particularly painful day of physical therapy, Fitzs hacks into the Bus's surveillance system and pulls up the clip for Skye. He narrates it like a boxing match, throwing in sports lingo (he doesn't understand a word of it) and medical commentary (considerably more accurate).

Skye chuckles, but it's slightly forced. She knew Coulson's got an emotional side-Simmons got an earful after the helmet incident-but May? What could make the Calvary lose her cool? There must be something she's missing.

* * *

Skye tries to ask May about, but she can't muster the nerve. Instead, she brings it up with Simmons while they're restocking the minibar one night. "Well, the Calvary doesn't have a reputation for nothing."

"But it wasn't a mission or anything-we'd already got Quinn."

"She wasn't the only one who wanted a piece of him." Simmons uncorked a bottle. "At the hospital, everyone was blaming themselves-Ward, Fitz, Coulson. May wasn't. She said it was Quinn's fault-and the way she said it...I really wasn't surprised." She poured another glass for Skye. "Actually, it made me think of this wildlife documentary I saw once. This wolf found a bear cub, was just starting to nibble when the mama came down. It didn't stand a chance."

Sure, she'd called them "Mom and Dad" once, but it was a joke. Most of her foster parents argued worse than May and Coulson, come to think of it. And none of them would have beat someone up like that. Didn't even come to parent-teacher conferences. "Well, May would make a pretty impressive bear."


	5. Fun and Games

"You really shouldn't go in there," Simmons hissed. "She's still recuperating."

"Which is why it's perfect," Fitz eased the door open.

"We shouldn't; it'd be endangering a civilian."

"It's only practice. Look, are you coming or not?"

Simmons glanced down the hall. "Well, then, I suppose..." She squeezed behind Skye's bed. "Just stay quiet."

Fitz stayed near the door. "It's important to guard the entrance."

"Is that why you put us in confined quarters with only one door? Field protocols recommend-"

"Hey, guys," Sky opened her eyes. "What's up?"

"You're awake."

"For the past ten minutes. Thought I'd lie low in case Simmons was just coming in for another blood test."

"Not this time. Ward has us practicing evasive tactical maneuvers."

"Sounds more like hide and seek."

"It is not hide and seek, it's preparation for future missions."

"You may have a point," Skye considered it for a moment. "If it was hide and seek, you wouldn't be wearing blue and dark grey in the middle of a white room."

Simmons chuckled.


	6. Bouquets and Blessings

"I just need to lie down," Skye stumbled back to her sleeping cubicle, fumbling at the door. "I'm fine, really…"

Her vision blurred, transforming the room into a riot of shapes and colors. The grey walls were covered with coloring pages, diagrams, photos, and handwritten notes. She ran her figures over the nearest image—blueprints for the Bus itself. That one had to be Fitz's contribution. One corner was tucked under a crayon sketch of a child with a teddy bear—Winnie the Pooh, she realized, looking closely at the bear's red shirt.

Something waved just out of view. Pale plastic shapes bobbed against the ceiling, wound together with fraying strands of rope. It wasn't…yes, it was. Surgical gloves, inflated as makeshift balloons. She ran her fingers down the rope, tracing it to a grey, knitted lump with a sticky note on it. "Skye, as a little welcome-to-the-team present, I thought I'd make you a little mascot. This is Linky, the computer mouse. PS: He needs more stuffing; I'll pick some up next time we land. Simmons. "

A mouse? Well, those buttons could be eyes…and the long strand could be a tail, and those other pink shapes might be ears. But it was kind of cute, for all that, and Simmons had made it especially for her. Skye set it by her pillow, accidently knocking something to the floor.

She bent over slowly, trying to keep her focus. It looked like a wallet, but thinner. Leather, embossed with S.H.I.E.L.D's emblem. One of the others must have lost it. She flipped it open.

Skye. Position: Computer Consultant. Sex, hair color, date of birth, date issued…

"They kept demanding a last name." Coulson stood in the hallway, shaking his head. "I managed to convince them that could wait. I could have made one up, but…"

"Is this mine?"

"Everyone else already has one."

"But—I didn't do anything. I almost died."

"I died once. Didn't stop me." He stepped inside. "You're a member of this team. I just made it official."


End file.
